Catch Me Always
by lil'hawkeye3
Summary: The amount of time necessary to fall in love depends on how far is needed to fall. The fates of Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy are hopelessly entwined- from middle, to end, to beginning. "Please don't let me fall- but catch me always." -cover art done by @KoraKunkel
1. Am I not?

_Am I starting something new while I have 20 other things that remain incomplete? You know it. These come from a writing prompt list by drink-it-write-it on tumblr; I am challenging myself to complete each and every prompt on the list. I hope you stick around for the result!_

Draco stared up at her from where he lay tangled in the sheets of his bed (_their bed,_ if she was being completely honest with herself. Just because she hadn't officially moved in yet didn't mean she wasn't inhabiting the room on a regular basis). She was currently pulling one of her blouses from within his (_their_) wardrobe, pulling it on but leaving it unbuttoned as she stepped into her stockings.

"You said that I'd get to have you all weekend," he complained as he shifted his head slightly, his stormy grey eyes tracking her as she moved closer to the bed in search of her wand. She paused for a moment as he reached out one arm to twist a lock of her curls around his fingers. His motion displayed the faded Mark on his forearm, and Hermione leaned down to brush a gentle kiss across the scarred skin before she found her wand and left his side. With a careless flick, her blouse magically buttoned itself, and now she was on the hunt for a pencil skirt suitable for a meeting with several ambassadors.

"I didn't plan for an emergency session to be called, Draco," she sighed in response. With no skirt in sight, it looked like dress trousers would have to do for today. Not that it mattered- they'd look well with her professional robes regardless. She stepped into the trousers and then dashed to the bathroom, wanting to put on some quick makeup to temporarily cover the more visible marks left behind on her neck.

A pair of arms slipped around her waist, and his blonde hair came into view in the mirror as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "Why can't you just tell them you can't go?"

She rolled her eyes as she finished her concealer and moved onto a bit of lipstick (she always preferred muggle methods, as they couldn't be removed by a simple 'finite'). "Because it's my job, and it's important."

Draco turned his head so his lips ghosted over her right ear. "And I'm not?" He breathed quietly, his hands beginning to wander as he pressed himself closer to her.

Hermione closed her eyes and counted to three, allowing herself to enjoy those brief moments before lightly elbowed him and spun around in his embrace. "Your ego doesn't need inflating," she teased, leaning in to kiss him quickly.

"It doesn't _need_ it, but it'd still be appreciated," he responded with a smirk, but he let her go so she could finish getting ready and floo to work. It wouldn't do for the newest Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to be late to a meeting.


	2. I'm not human

Draco didn't need to look up to know she was there. It wasn't that he felt like he was being watched (this year, there was never a moment where he didn't feel eyes on him). It was the feeling of warmth returning to him- the same feeling that always vanished when she did. He lowered his wand from the side of the Vanishing Cabinet where he was sketching runes into the base.

"You should sleep."

He clenched his jaw and closed his eyes tiredly. "I'm not human- therefore, I do not require sleep," he replied sarcastically. It wasn't far from the truth in his mind- the mark seared into his arm made him feel like a monster.

"Draco," she called softly, stepping over and taking hold of his hand that was clenched around his wand. He let her loosen his grip as he opened his eyes and turned around to face her.

She always looked like something out of a dream, mainly because he never thought his reality would include her willingly by his side. It must've been the weekend, because she was wearing a pair of those Muggle jeans she loved and a regular sweater. Her curls were tied up in a messy bun and she had a smudge of ink on her jaw. At least it looked like she was getting more sleep than he was.

"You can't keep going like this," she murmured, leading him away from his project. He didn't try and fight her as she took them out of the piles of lost things and stopped them near the door. "Close your eyes and wish for our room."

He did as she asked, and seconds later found himself standing in their secret corner of the Hogwarts. The Room of Requirement had shifted to be a small fireplace lit bedroom, with several chairs and a four poster bed he knew from experience was big enough to fit both of them. "Seems like you're not giving me much of a choice," he tried teasing, but even he could feel how worn down he sounded.

She sat him down on the bed and he pulled off his shoes and jacket before laying down and twisting to face Hermione's side of the bed, where she was crawling up to join him. "I'll wake you up before morning, so you can get back to the dungeons unbothered."

"Thank you," he whispered, reaching out to pull her closer to him. She slotted into his side like a puzzle piece, and the last thing he felt before drifting off were her arms pulling him closer.


	3. I will protect you

This night had turned into a living nightmare. Death Eaters had infiltrated Hogwarts.

Hermione had already passed several fallen bodies but she tried to push the images out of her mind as she dueled the nearest masked wizard. She ignored her attacker's angered hiss of _"die, mudblood!" _and instead focused on the slight satisfaction that came when she successfully hit him with a stunner. As he crumpled to the ground, another figure came running around the corner and Hermione raised her wand to stun them before they could react-

And then she recognized the blonde hair and gray eyes and they were running toward each other and before she realized it, she was wrapping her arms around Draco and releasing a breath she didn't know she was even holding because _he was okay._

He seemed just as relieved. "You're alright."

"Draco, what happened?" She urgently asked him, keeping her voice hushed just in case. "What's going on?"

"Dumbledore's dead." He choked out. "I couldn't do it." He released her and looked down at her in worry. "Harry saw. He's after Snape."

Hermione's eyes widened as she took a step back to better look at him. His face was pale, even when it should have been flushed from running, and his eyes were rimmed red. And his news- she'd react to it later. Now, they were in danger. "This is it, then." He nodded slowly at her words. She reached up to caress his cheek, but he took her hand and instead leaned down and kissed her softly.

"We will make it through this," he whispered, his eyes searching her face as if he was memorizing it. "I will protect you with my life."

"I love you," she replied with a weak smile, knowing this was his way of saying it. She also knew they were running out of time. "You need to go before you're caught. Hurry," she urged as he hesitated.

Hermione knew she wouldn't be able to watch as he ran off, so she turned as he did, both of them running off in different directions down the corridor.


	4. Don't let me fall

"Hermione, honestly! It's just a broomstick; it won't bite you."

The Gryffindor crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, surveying both the broom and its owner suspiciously. "I'm not getting on that broom, Draco."

Draco stared at her incredulously. "You rode on the back of a dragon, but a broom is where you draw the line?"

Hermione huffed, her curls bouncing as she looked resolutely away from him. "Dragons and hippogriffs and thestrals are conscious beings, while a broom can easily be tampered with-"

"Wait, wait," Draco had stopped listening with her casual mention of three highly dangerous creatures. "When the hell did you ride a _thestral?!_ And even a hippogriff?"

She blushed slightly, but he couldn't tell if it was in embarrassment or guilt. "We rode thestrals to the Ministry in fifth year, and Harry and I may or may not have been involved in Buckbeak's disappearance..."

Well _that_ was news to him. "Potter freed that overgrown chicken?!" At her annoyed glare, Draco turned back to the situation at hand. "Never mind. My point is, if you can ride all of those creatures, surely you can take a quick ride on a broom with me controlling it."

He could tell her resolve was beginning to crumble, so he chanced taking a few steps closer to her. "You know, they can be confounded," she muttered petulantly.

He raised an eyebrow. "Well then, you're free to check mine for any spells. But you're not getting out of this."

At his invitation, she pulled out her wand and performed her own scan of the Firebolt, but he knew she wouldn't find anything. He thoroughly checked his broom before any flight. "It's clean," she determined after several moments with a sigh.

"Well then, Ms. Granger," he asked, offering his hand, "would you do me the honor of allowing me to show you Hogwarts from the sky?"

She didn't break her gaze with him as she placed her hand in his. "I suppose so..." Despite her reluctant words, she smiled as he helped position her behind him, and showed her where to hold onto him.

Before he launched them into the air, Draco heard Hermione's whispered plea from where she pressed her cheek against his shoulder. "Please don't let me fall."

"Never."


	5. Catch me?

Between his blond hair and the green accents on his robes, he was easy to spot among the sea of red and gold heading up the Grand Staircase. Hermione made sure to slow her pace so she fell to the back of the Gryffindor pack. As her housemates reached the seventh floor and they all turned right, she made sure no one was watching her as she turned left, following his invisible footsteps until she reached the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. She stared at it blankly for a moment, contemplating the last time she was in this corridor. Things were more hopeful then, even with that evil pink toad roaming the halls.

It wasn't worth dwelling on now. She shook her head slightly to redirect her focus and did the familiar three passes in front of the blank wall opposite the tapestry before a wooden door appeared. She quickly opened it and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her.

Draco was sitting with his back to the wall, staring into the endless stacks in the room of lost things. Now that she saw him up close, she could see his normally perfect hair was rumpled and his face was paler than normal. He was clutching his left arm to his chest as he panted heavily, and her heart immediately sank to her stomach.

He looked up as she approached him. "I guess I finally proved Potter and Weasel right, isn't that right, Granger?"

Hermione sighed and sat next to him. "You're not evil, Draco."

"He wants me to kill the Headmaster, Hermione. He'll kill my mother if I fail."

She squeezed her eyes shut, hating everything that had led him to this hell. "You can't do this alone." She moved closer to him so her arm pressed against his.

"I have to do this alone. I have to prove myself!"

She reached over and gently took his hand from where it was clenched on his knee. "I'm sorry, Draco."

He laced his fingers through hers even as he turned his face away. "You'll catch me, right? If I... if I fall too far."

"Always," she whispered back.


	6. Follow me?

Hermione turned towards him, her gaze singling him out amongst the rows of darkly clad students crowded in the Great Hall, and he automatically knew she was asking him if he'd join her.

_You broke me and now you expect me to follow you out onto the battlefield? No. The answer is no._

At least, that was Draco's immediate thought. It was mostly an instinctual reaction, but he'd be lying if there wasn't some underlying distaste for Potter and the Dark Lord and his parents and the world mixed up in it.

He'd also be lying to himself and the universe if he spoke those words out loud as the one statement that would forever define what they thought of him. He was not weak, he was not a coward, he was not someone who turned at the last minute and stabbed them in the back. Sure, he didn't like having to fight against his friends' parents, or Merlin forbid his own parents, but he knew he really didn't have a choice to make at this point. He made his choice all those months and years ago, when he first acted contrary to his 'perfect pureblood son' image.

Now he knew, protecting the younger students that would soon be hidden in the dungeons of the castle was what a true pureblood- what a true _wizard_ would do.

As Hermione held out her hand to him, in front of the Order of Phoenix and their professors and hundreds of students, he took confident steps towards her even as he moved at a cautious pace (in case someone decided to be stupid and throw a hex, he wasn't about to be caught off guard). His hand still slipped perfectly into hers, even after agonizing weeks apart. He met her bright eyes, sparkling with joy despite the bleak situation, and Draco knew he was right where he needed to be.

"Granger," he allowed himself to say in the deafening silence that had fallen.

"Draco," she replied with a smirk, one that looked so eerily like his own that he nearly burst with pride.

Anything else that could've been said was disrupted by another student stepping forward and separating themselves from their peers. "Was that the signal we were waiting for?" Theo Nott's voice rang out, and Draco rolled his eyes to the charmed ceiling as a ripple of giggles washed over the students.

He sighed and turned away from Hermione, while keeping a firm grip on her hand. "Fine," he conceded as he flicked his wand from his arm holder and into his hand before firing off a series of stunners at a pair of Death Eater sixth years. The hall was filled with shouts and screams as his secret group of snakes simultaneously attacked other marked fighters across all houses. In the span of ten seconds, the eleven Death Eater students were all stunned and bound, and Theo, Daphne Greengrass, Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson had moved to stand protectively beside him as he silently dared anyone to fight them.

"Mr. Malfoy, would you care to explain?" Professor McGonagall asked over the furious whispering that had broken out.

"They're all marked Death Eaters," he said, gesturing at the still bodies. "We'll put them in the dungeons so they can't harm anyone, and they themselves can't be harmed."

"The younger students can be kept safe in the Slytherin common room," Daphne offered from where she stood next to Theo. "No one will go looking there."

There was some muttering at that, and one feisty Gryffindor voiced their worry. "How can we trust what they say? They're snakes!"

Draco narrowed his eyes, ready to defend his housemates who were just _trying to protect innocent children_\- but he stopped as Hermione squeezed his hand tightly. "Right now, we need all the help we can get," she said authoritatively. "They've proved they're here to help, and I trust them. Besides," she added with a steely tone, "I trained them."

Draco didn't notice as Professor McGonagall nodded in agreement, and he barely heard her begin to organize everyone into groups to carry out their tasks. He didn't notice as some of the small first years sent him and his friends nervous smiles in thanks, because how bad could they really be if they took out hidden bad guys? He didn't notice Theo hand Blaise two galleons, or Weasley turn away with a grimace, or Potter shrug helplessly and run a hand through his messy black hair. For this one moment, this one final moment of peace and hope before everything inevitably went to shit, his focus was completely on Hermione as he pressed his forehead against hers and held her close, and everything felt like it was going to turn out alright.


	7. I promised

Hermione despised hospitals.

She despised their stark white and orderly nature, she despised the circumstances that required her presence in them, she despised having to bow to the whims of the healers and not being allowed to help the people she loved. The looks people sent her as they passed in the hallway, the whispers as if they knew her entire life story, the weak messages of condolence... they all grated on her nerves.

It had been three hours since she had received Harry's patronus. She'd been busy at work in her office at the Ministry, something she did in order to not let her mind wander and worry over her best friend and fiance. The arrival of Harry's stag and not Harry and Draco themselves only meant one thing.

Something must've gone wrong.

_Ward collapse and ambush,_ Harry's voice spoke through the glowing stag. _At St. Mungo's._

Luckily, as the head of her department, she was able to leave after stopping at her second-in-command's desk and notifying him she would be at the magical hospital if a code red happened. He gave her a small smile and a mock salute before she headed to an apparation point.

She landed in the lobby of St. Mungo's with a loud crack- she had perfected silent apparation, but her fears were clouding her precise concentration as they whirled around in her head in a series of _what if's._

She wasn't left to wait for long. Just as she headed to over towards the Welcome Witch's desk, her name was called out from the other side of the lobby. She turned her head too quickly and had to stop to push her curls out of her face as Harry walked over to her. Or rather... he limped over. Her eyes widened as she took in his condition.

Other than his heavy limp on his right leg, Hermione could see he had burns on his left arm reaching all the way up to his shoulder. His robe was absolutely in tatters and his glasses were broken (again). He had dark smudges and stains across his knees and chest, and she desperately hoped that they were caused by dirt even though deep down she knew they were blood stains, and probably not from himself.

"Are you alright?" She asked, closing the distance between them and beginning her own diagnosis charms. Despite the severity of the situation, Harry laughed softly at her antics. She'd done the same ever since she'd learned the spells during their years at Hogwarts.

"M'fine, Mione," he slightly slurred, shrugging under her penetrating stare since they both knew he wasn't really fine. "Wanted to wait for you before they took me up. Draco's in surgery already. The ward team missed a hidden trigger and we set it and an alarm off; the wards backfired on us right as an attack team arrived."

Hermione made sure to finish her minor healing spells on Harry before she allowed her mind to go into overdrive worrying about Draco. After taking several deep breaths, she steadily met Harry's tired emerald eyes. "Where is he?"

"Fourth floor, spell damage ward."

Message told, she made sure Harry went willingly with some healers so they could get a better look at him before she went straight upstairs. There was nothing else she could do but wait, and so she seated herself in the waiting area and pulled a book out of her extendable bag to help pass the time.

She was near the book's halfway point when a healer approached her and requested her presence. "Mr. Malfoy is awake and asking for you."

Not needing to hear another word, Hermione swiftly followed the woman down a long hall to a room near the end of the ward. With a nod of thanks, she entered the room.

Draco appeared far more beat up than Harry had been. Of the parts that remained visible above the sheets, his left shoulder was peppered with bruises, and he had a myriad of scrapes on the left side of his jaw all the way up to his temple. His eyes were open though, and Hermione felt as if a weight was lifted from her shoulders when he looked up as she walked in.

"Fancy seeing you here," he rasped, his throat sounding painfully raw and yet he still managed to smirk at her.

Hermione let out a breathy laugh. "You bloody idiot," she said softly as she took a seat in a chair beside his bed. Her fingers reached out to brush a lock of his pale hair off of his forehead. "You both had me frightened."

"But mostly me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Seeing as Harry was at least able to send me a patronus, yes mostly you had me frightened."

He tried to laugh, but it ended up sounding more like a cough. "I told you that I'd never leave you; I'm not going anywhere."

"I know." She leaned in to brush a kiss against his cheek. "Get some rest. We can talk about our close call later."

"Brilliant, you are," Draco grinned as he sank deeper into his pillow. He fell asleep in minutes, and Hermione sat back in her chair, prepared to watch over him until he woke up again.


	8. Take me

"You take me instead, do you hear me? Give her back and take me instead!"

This wasn't the first time Theo had heard those words in the middle of the night. They'd been a recurring feature of their dormitory room for the past several years, but only in the last few days since Easter recess had they had any real fire to them. He knew something horrific had happened at Malfoy Manor, but Draco had returned with an empty stare that no one wanted to further damage.

But this couldn't continue any longer. Draco was lucky Goyle and Crabbe were no longer in their suite (they'd left Hogwarts to take part in an attack party for the next few weeks). With only Theo and Blaise as witnesses, word of Draco's night terrors wouldn't get out.

At least, not yet. No secret was ever safe in the Slytherin dorms, not with the number of moles reporting directly to the Dark Lord.

(He couldn't wait until Potter got around to killing the bastard once and for all. Every time he had to use the term, he felt the need to wash his mouth out with the strongest brand of alcohol he could find.)

For now though, all that mattered was he needed to stop Draco's shouts.

Theo dragged himself out of bed slowly, since he was still feeling the effects of a well-aimed _Crucio_ from Daphne in Dark Arts class. She couldn't be caught going easy on him, especially after news of their betrothal had caused some fury amongst some of the Death Eaters who had been eyeing the Greengrass girls. He wore the scars she gave him with honor, knowing they were evidence of the one small thing he was able to do to protect her in this hell.

He used his bare hands to shake Draco awake, knowing that being seen with a wand would appear more threatening to his friend's sleep-addled mind. He was right- Draco's eyes snapped open and he was pointing the tip of his wand under Theo's chin before he even blinked. Theo stood still calmly as he waited for Draco's harsh breathing to even out.

"What is it?" Draco asked in annoyance once he finally lowered his wand. He seemed adamant to look anywhere but at Theo.

Theo raised a mocking eyebrow. He'd spent the past week respecting Draco's privacy and need to recover, but there was no longer time for playing nice. Each night it continued, they were all at threat.

"What happened at the manor, Draco?"

"The prisoners escaped. Bellatrix was furious. We were punished." Draco had repeated these three phrases to anyone who had asked about the incident, and as always, Theo was struck by how hollow they sounded.

"You've been screaming in your sleep for the past week." Theo's eyes narrowed dangerously as Draco merely shrugged at the observation. "Malfoy, we haven't got _time_ left for your secrets! If you can't tell us what's causing this, we can't figure out a way to stop it from happening!"

Draco laser focused on one aspect of Theo's outburst as his gaze drifted around their dimmed room. "'We?'"

Of _course_ he'd be hung up on that.

"What, you didn't think I'd be involved in this friendly inquisition?" Blaise drawled from where he was leaning against the nightstand on the other side of Draco's bed, unnoticed by the blonde until now.

Theo could see Draco visibly clench his jaw. "There's nothing you can do. This is my invisible wound to match her own."

"Draco... what happened to Granger?" Blaise asked, his voice dropping to a softer level.

Draco hesitated for a moment before moving to press his back against the bed frame, his legs crossed to allow his friends some space to sit on the bed. They'd done this routine for years when a serious conversation needed to be held: the three would sit on one bed and close and ward the curtains so nothing they said could be heard. As they followed this ritual once more, Theo noticed they were finally getting too big for the space.

Just another thing that had changed since their first year.

"Snatchers brought in the three of them," Draco started once they were settled. "They lied about their names... I think she hit Potter with a stinging hex; couldn't properly see his scar."

Just those words alone had Theo's eyes widen. They were as close to an admission of guilt that they were able to get nowadays.

"One of the scum had a sword that Aunt Bella said was from her vault. She killed the lot of Snatchers, threw the boys in the dungeon, but she kept... said she needed to talk to Granger."

Draco's eyes pinched shut as he started to rub at the fabric of his sleeve that concealed his Dark Mark. Theo recognized this as a nervous habit that had formed in the past two years.

"She crucioed her. For _minutes._ At least ten. It felt longer." His hands clenched tightly, and it was clear his knuckles had gone as pale as his face had as memories resurfaced. "Aun- Bellatrix, she had a cursed knife. Carved _mudblood_ into her arm. And... and all I can think is, she's scarred forever with a word _I _called her. A word first said to her by a Malfoy, given to her in Malfoy Manor, by _my fucking Aunt!_"

The three of them sat in silence as they absorbed the damning situation Draco was in.

Blaise surprisingly broke the silence. "Hermione knew what she was getting herself into, Draco. This isn't the first time she'd been injured protecting Potter and her friends, and I think we all know it won't be the last. Remember their fight at the Ministry?"

"How is that supposed to help?!"

"Your Aunt's sins aren't your own," Theo interjected before tempers could blow. "And honestly mate, Hermione stuck with you even after you took the Mark-"

"-was _forced_ to take it-"

"Not the point!" Theo sighed. "She supported you, she helped train all of _us, _your friends, Slytherins who hadn't necessarily been the nicest to her. You didn't do this to her. She made a choice."

Draco's shoulders slumped, but Theo could see they were finally getting through to him. "I didn't try to help her."

"Look Draco, you're good at dueling, but against Bellatrix in a blood lust state?" Blaise shook his head. "I'm not even sure you could survive that. Besides, Hermione'd be livid if you did something stupid like that."

"Yeah, and then we'd be the ones dealing with her fury. I'm trying to survive this war, not be taken out by a pissed off Gryffindor princess, thank you very much," Theo muttered.

He hadn't expected to hear a snicker from Draco, but apparently the reminder of how fiery Hermione Granger was did the trick.

"You two bastards wouldn't make it out alive."

At least that was something they could all faux-bicker over for the foreseeable future. Theo knew he and Blaise would take any amount of ribbing if it meant they remained successful at distracting Draco from the tainted memories that threatened to drown him.


	9. Something doesn't feel right

"Of course the prefects' we'd _have_ to get stuck hiding from would be our two best mates," Ginny muttered softly, her face pressed against Blaise's chest as they hid in a small alcove behind a tapestry. She felt the vibrations from his quiet laughter at her complaint and pinched his side in retaliation.

"Shush, Red," he hissed through his grin, sliding his hand up to cover her mouth.

"-the third time we've caught those Hufflepuffs in that classroom, _honestly,_ you'd think they'd learn to at least find another place..." Hermione's voice drifted towards them as they walked closer down the corridor.

Draco Malfoy's laugh interrupted her words. "They aren't Slytherins, Granger. Give us our due credit for being sneaky."

The footsteps stopped. "Trust me, Draco, I give _us_ plenty of credit."

Ginny's eyebrows rose dramatically. She certainly wasn't expecting to hear Hermione teasing someone so suggestively, especially to Draco Malfoy. She was ready to brush it off as something to ask Hermione about later, until she heard Malfoy's breathy laugh followed by what sounded suspiciously like a kiss.

She pulled Blaise's hand off of her mouth. _Did you know? _she mouthed, narrowing her eyes as she glared up at him.

Blaise's own eyes were wide in surprise of what they had heard as he shook his head in dissent.

"Wait, something doesn't feel right." Draco's words had them freeze, in fear that they had been discovered. Ginny held her breath as footsteps drew closer, hoping they would just walk right by their hiding spot...

She blinked harshly as the tapestry was pulled aside and the bright light from Herrmione's _lumos_ charm filled their alcove. "Aw, hell."

Hermione stared at her, clearly unimpressed. "It's past curfew, Ginny." Her curious gaze drifted to land on Blaise. "And you didn't tell me you and Zabini were-"

"Yeah, well you never mentioned you and Malfoy, so that makes us even!" Ginny snapped back, crossing her arms with a huff.

"And this would be why," Malfoy sighed, gesturing at the thunderous expressions of both her and Blaise. "It's not like Hermione and I can even publicly be friends. We decided to keep everything secret."

Ginny didn't want to hear anything from him. "Hermione, he called you a mudblood last week! You can't be serious!"

Hermione looked both ways down the corridor before she waved her wand and Ginny felt a silencing ward settle around the four of them. "There are Death Eater recruits in the sixth and seventh years, Ginny. We can't let them suspect _anything. _Otherwise both of us- and our families and friends-" she added with a pointed stare at her and Blaise, "would be in danger."

Ginny was slowly starting to calm as she thought over their words and observed how the two were even standing next to each other. Malfoy was angled in a way to shield Hermione from behind, while she had clearly been ready to attack head on as she had confronted them.

"You both owe us an explanation," Blaise spoke, and Ginny nodded in agreement at his condition.

She watched as Hermione and Malfoy shared a look that seemed to convey a thousand words. It reminded her of her parents. She knew then that they were a serious pair. She'd never reached that point with any of the boys she'd ever dated.

"Alright," Hermione said with a small smile. "Friday night, we'll all have a chat."

Malfoy smirked at their confused expressions from Hermione's use of 'all.' "We agreed we'd tell all our friends at once. Merlin knows the lot of you can't keep a secret from each other."


	10. Did you hear that

Silence reigned in the abandoned classroom that Hermione and Draco had gathered their respective friends in to tell them about their relationship.

"Did you hear that too?" Pansy asked, looking around at the others. Most of them seemed equally shocked and suspicious, although Ginny and Blaise were both clearly amused by the situation. "My mind isn't just making this up?"

"For once, I agree with Parkinson," Harry muttered, his eyes narrowed as he stared at Draco.

"What, none of you noticed?" All eyes turned towards a confused Ron. "I mean, it was a bit obvious, don't you think?" He added with a shrug. "Malfoy stopped goin' after Hermione as much as usual and started saying more about me an' Harry."

Theo nodded slowly as Ron's words sunk in. "I didn't make the connection about the two of them, but I had noticed Draco seemed... less depressive."

"Thanks, Theo," Draco muttered.

"He's right," Luna piped up helpfully from where she was seated on a desk, swinging her legs nonchalantly. "You've had less nargles distracting you lately."

Hermione smiled at her blonde friend. "I'm glad to hear that, Luna."

"While this is _heartwarming_, of course," Daphne said, drawing out the word mockingly, "why tell us now?"

Ginny's snicker drew the both Hermione's annoyed glare and the rest's curious gazes. "We caught them last night," she said with a sly grin, pointing between Hermione and Draco.

"Who's 'we?'" Ron asked in a warning tone as Ginny realized her slip up.

Hermione innocently blinked at her friend. "Ginny and Blaise were out after curfew. I'm afraid they cost Slytherin and Gryffindor five points each."

"Touche," Blaise grumbled.

"Alright, are there any other secret cross-house relationships that people need to mention?!" Harry asked, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. Giggles spread as Luna's hand shot into the air and Neville raised his slowly to join her. Harry didn't even look up. "Anyone _besides_ Neville and Luna?"

Draco leaned in to whisper in Hermione's ear. "You weren't joking when you said he was dramatic."

Hermione flicked his arm teasingly. "Pot calling the kettle black."


	11. Are you sure

_Prologue to Ch 7_

"Malfoy, can you hear me?"

Draco coughed as the dust settled around them. The ringing in his ears wouldn't go away. Maybe this voice was something just in his head?

Apparently not, as it returned louder this time and closer to him. "Draco, are you alright? You're a hero, mate."

Oh, he must be dreaming. Maybe he did really die in the explosion- but then, that wouldn't explain why his ribs hurt so badly. "I almost died and now you're telling me I'm a hero?" He scoffed but stopped as the sharp exhaling worsened his chest pain. "Are you sure you have the right person?" Draco groaned as he rolled over onto his side. "I''m pretty sure you're looking for Potter. He's around here somewhere, I'm sure."

"Oh hell, did you hit your head?" His vision became obscured as Potter's face suddenly came into view. It seemed that the man was kneeling in front of him. "Hang on, I'mma to send a Patronus to Mione before we portkey to St. Mungo's."

His eyes widened. "Hermione. I love her, y'know. Her hair... it's so bushy."

Harry let out a breathy laugh. "I'm never going to let you forget this," Draco heard him mutter. He wasn't sure why he'd need reminding about his beautiful fiancé. He reached his head up to rub curiously at his jaw but paused as he felt something wet against his fingers. Pulling his fingers away, he was met with the sight of crimson blood.

"The wards..." He coughed again, his eyes widening as he remembered what had happened. "We were ambushed! The others-" Another cough interrupted him. "Did they make it out?"

Harry gave him a weak smile as he helped him into a sitting position. "Yeah. You shielded us all from the main brunt of it. That protego of yours is bloody powerful." He draped Draco's arm over his shoulder as he gripped the blond's waist and hauled them both into a standing position. "Now come on. We're getting to St. Mungo's now. Hermione will be there soon."

"Don't let her see me until they treat me," Draco murmured as fatigue set into his bones. "If she sees me like this, it'll only bring back nightmares."

Harry stared at him quietly for a moment before sighing in agreement. "If you say so. But we've waited long enough as it is." Harry handed him a short rope, and Draco shakily took the other end of it, grabbing tight as Harry activated the portkey. _"Hospital run!"_


End file.
